The Israeli Minister of Science, Ofir Akunis, informed the German Ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, of the cancellation of a meeting that was planned between them Sunday afternoon due to the German official's attendance in a controversial Memorial Day event and prevented German fighters from participating in the full route in the annual Independence Day Flyover.  Seibert also was noticeably absent from the official Memorial Day ceremony, an event most diplomats in Israel attend.

After Seibert participated in the leftist "Alternative Day of Remembrance" ceremony held in Tel Aviv which includes families of fallen IDF soldiers with Palestinians who lost loved ones who participated in acts of terror, Akunis made his decision. The ceremony is subject to intense public controversy and is considered offensive in the eyes of most Israelis.

Dear Sammy, you are absolutely right. Seibert's decision NOT to attend the official commemoration of the fallen and the "Alternative Day of Remembrance" instead is an incredibly insensitive insult towards many Israelis. As a German once again I feel deeply ashamed.

— Maria von Schlippenbach (@MSchlippenbach) April 29, 2023

"The ambassador's participation in an event that 99 percent of the public in Israel opposes is something that should  have not be done," Minister Akunis told reporters adding that “Now is not the time to meet the ambassador.”

Seibert, who was appointed to his position less than a year ago, is not a professional diplomat. He led a brilliant journalistic career and was considered the number one TV personality in Germany until 2010 when Chancellor Angela Merkel appointed him director of her communications team, a position he held for 12 years. After that, at his request, he was appointed ambassador to Israel.

The German ambassador commemorated the terrorists of the antisemitic PA, Hamas etc which killed Jewish civilians. The islamic terrorists were finally neutralized by the IDF, the army of the democratic, Jewish State of Israel. Seibert should be summoned. https://t.co/qVg8oVXrzT

— Naftali Hirschl. (@NaftaliHirschl) April 29, 2023

Although his general political attitude is considered moderate, Seibert took a series of controversial actions, either on his own behalf or on behalf of the German Foreign Ministry. On January 26 earlier this year on International Holocaust Day, Seibert wrote on Twitter that he was concerned about reports of a high number of casualties from the Israel Defense Forces operation in Jenin without mentioning the trigger for that raid, or the fact that Palestinian militants opened fire on the forces when they came to make an arrest.

In a conversation held last week reported on by Israeli news outlets, Seibert boasted about additional actions, which will appear problematic at least in the eyes of some Israelis. On the orders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin, he acted to prevent the planes of the German Air Force, which took part in the Independence Day flights, from passing through Judea and Samaria. "The route also passed through occupied areas. To avoid this, the Eurofighter planes left temporarily," the German Air Force website reported on the route change. In that same internal conversation, Seibert also spoke out against the judicial reform and in favor of his government's aid to the protest, even though this is an internal Israeli issue subject to political controversy.

A German #EagleStar2 Eurofighter together with jets from @IAFsite and other partners flying along Israel's coastlines on #YomHaatzmaut - a present to the people of Israel and an impressive symbol of our 🇩🇪-🇮🇱 friendship & cooperation in so many fields. @Team_Luftwaffe pic.twitter.com/zkoE5IIJkd

— Steffen Seibert (@GerAmbTLV) April 26, 2023

The German Embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed the facts and responded: "Ambassador Seibert participated in a long series of events on Memorial Day and Independence Day. At the cemetery, he paid respect to the victims of terrorism and wars, and at the airshow in Tel Aviv, he watched together with Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, and on various occasions expressed his affection and his admiration for the State of Israel.